LeVar Burton
Acting
- Born:
- 1957-02-16
- Place of birth:
- Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany
Biography
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), and was the host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for 23 years (1983–2006). Burton received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow. His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his accomplishments in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. From 2017 until 2024, Burton created and hosted the podcast LeVar Burton Reads, often described as "Reading Rainbow for adults". In October 2024, Burton appeared as the host of the Trivial Pursuit television game show broadcast on The CW network and streaming online.
Known For
Filmography
One Night Only
Strip Law
Weather Hunters
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
Trivial Pursuit
Butterfly in the Sky
Carol & the End of the World
100 Years of Warner Bros.
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
Tom Swift
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
The Shuttlepod Show
The Legend of Vox Machina
The Problem with Jon Stewart
Leverage: Redemption
INVINCIBLE
Beyond the Spotlight
Definition Please
Star Trek: Picard
The Tamron Hall Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Weird City
The Ready Room
Brentwood
Explained
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
School of the Future
Roots
Lennon or McCartney
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
PBS News Weekend
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
Rise of the Zombies
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Perception
The Eric Andre Show
Finding Your Roots
Transformers: Rescue Bots
And They're Off
The Jensen Project
Adventure Time
Taken in Broad Daylight
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Community
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Shatner's Raw Nerve
Reach for Me
The Big Bang Theory
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
40 Years of Star Trek
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
Hell's Kitchen
Blizzard
Star Trek: Nemesis
Boomtown
Remembering Roots
Ali
Futurama
Family Guy
Our Friend, Martin
Star Trek: Insurrection
Becker
Trekkies
The View
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
The Daily Show
Yesterday's Target
MADtv
Pinky and the Brain
Deadly Games
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Generations
Gargoyles
Parallel Lives
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Christy
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
Batman: The Animated Series
Star Trek: Federation Science
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Central Park
Roots: The Gift
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
Star Trek: The Next Generation
A Special Friendship
Houston Knights
Liberty
The Supernaturals
The Midnight Hour
And the Children Shall Lead
Booker
Murder, She Wrote
Jeopardy!
The Jesse Owens Story
Emergency Room
Reading Rainbow
I Love Liberty
Grambling's White Tiger
The Acorn People
The Hunter
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
Trapper John, M.D.
Dummy
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Mickey's 50
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
Battered
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
The Love Boat
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
US Against the World
Roots
Roots: The Complete Miniseries
The Captain and Tennille
Almos' a Man
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Make-Up Man: The Michael Westmore Documentary
Scripps National Spelling Bee